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I don't know about you but when the weather heats up, a cool salad sounds like a great addition to the menu. While a salad often precedes the main course in restaurants, a salad can also serve as the main course – or the only course. Chefs, dietitians, even bloggers and "foodies" are taking on salads these days, and pushing them in new directions.

It is that time of the year! Babies of all kinds are on the ground or in the nests getting ready to hit the ground or water. Fawns are here and baby geese and ducks are swimming around. Eagles are already on the move, owls are out, and everyone is busy trying to keep little ones fed.

Another school year has come to an end, but that does not mean that a family schedule is impossible. Yes, it will be important to give your kids some down time in between their ball practices or swimming lessons. But do make an effort to limit screen time either in front of the TV or any of the other electronic devices that many children are literally glued to.

The first rule of improvisational comedy is to say "yes." The second rule is to add "and." So, no matter what your partner says, you say "yes – and" so you agree and add to the story. This is what moves the story along. Without adding to it, there's nothing happening.

I was driving around the Bottoms bemoaning the fact that the migration is about done for most of the shore birds. After getting out of the vehicle and walking around for a while, I got enough mosquito bites to force me back into the vehicle and head for the prairie areas around the marsh. It was a good decision!

Dotting Cheyenne Bottoms' sand hills, the stately yucca plant is blooming, beginning an elaborate partnership of survival between animal and plant. Towering spikes of bell-like flowers emit a pleasant fragrance, attracting a small bright white moth, commonly named the yucca moth. Over millions of years, plant and moth formed a relationship, making each essential to the other's survival – the moth's young only eat yucca and no other pollinator visits the yucca's flowers.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! The month of May has arrived and that means a frenzy of activity for families who are celebrating Mother's day today or graduations. Hopefully your weekend plans include some good family time with plenty of hugs.

It is 5 a.m. and I am getting a cup of coffee. The cat is impatient for me to plop in the recliner so he can start his day with a nap in my lap while we check the news and, more importantly, the weather. It is a routine that we follow almost every day. A lap full of joyful purring is truly a great and happy way to get the day started. Hammer agrees.

The 2017 Walk Kansas campaign is winding down. The roller coaster temperatures and windy days have made this eight week fitness challenge just that; a challenge! I have tried to bike as much as I could to work and local meetings the past few weeks. A highlight of the month was completing the Earth Day bike ride put on by the Heartland Center. Riding out to Heartland Farms and back on a chilly Saturday morning felt great!

I've been on a quest for the perfect pie crust for a very long time. The one I grew up with was lard, flour and water – as little water as possible. When lard fell out of favor we started using vegetable shortening. As we all know, pie crust has never been the same.

Well, our youngest son, Matt, has officially left the nest. With a masters' degree in food science from Kansas State University, he landed a job working for the Florida Extension Service directing a food science lab. Food science is a popular major and it makes sense since EVERYONE has to eat. With his move to the Ft. Myers area he is just getting to know his way around. During a recent phone call I asked him about food prices and availability. Grocery stores have abundant produce and he's looking forward to checking out the year-round Farmer's Market available ...

By the time you are reading this column I should have recovered from the jet lag on my recent trip to the Nation's Capitol. We flew to D.C. a few days before the conference started so that my husband John, and I, could catch up with friends. It was great having a tour guide and driver who was familiar with the area.